Veronica Osorio and Melissa Barrera star in Starz original series 'Vida.' Tanya Saracho is the series showrunner.Starz

Maybe it’s just a coincidence, but Starz today announced it has picked up Latino-themed series Vida just two days before the start of Hispanic Heritage Month.

The cable network seems serious in its efforts to attract more Latino viewers with the development of Latino-themed series, produced and written by Latinos, giving Vida life from a Latino perspective.

Starz tapped Mexican-born playwright, producer and television writer Tanya Saracho as showrunner of the half hour dramedy set in East L.A. It also brought in Mexican film director Alonso Ruizpalacios to direct the first episode. Saracho has worked on shows such as How to Get Away With Murder, Looking and Girls.

Veronica Osorio (Hail, Caesar!, The Carmichael Show, Girlboss) and Melissa Barrera (Club de Cuervos, La Mujer de Judas) have been cast to play Mexican-American twin sisters who inherit an East L.A. building from their recently deceased mother. As they return to their old neighborhood, they are confronted by the past and shocking truth about their mother’s identity.

“It’s a deeply personal and relatable series about coming back home and finally growing up,” says Starz CEO Chris Albrecht. “Vida reflects the intersecting worlds of Latin and American descendants of all genders and sexualities and speaks to the heart of Starz’s programming commitment to present compelling stories for traditionally underserved audiences. We are very proud to work with Tanya and help bring her vision to life.”

During the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena in January, Albrecht revealed that as part of Starz’s commitment to bringing more diversity to its programming slate, it was developing three projects from Latino creators, writers and producers - Vida (originally titled Pour Vida) was one of them.

Big Beach TV will produce the series with executive producers Marc Turtletaub, Peter Saraf and Robin Schwartz. Lionsgate will retain all domestic and international multiplatform rights, including broadcast, home entertainment and digital for the series.

SVP of Original Programming Marta Fernández and Manager of Original Programming Kathleen Clifford are the Starz executives in charge of Vida.

You can find more of Veronica's work covering the Hispanic media industry on MediaMoves.com.You can also check out her other stories and follow her on Forbes HERE.

I’m an Emmy award-winning multimedia journalist who has worked as a reporter, anchor, producer, columnist and writer for Spanish and English-language broadcast, print and online media, including Univision, Telemundo, Fox’s KTTV in L.A., and the San Jose Mercury News, before...